Mourning L
by Insaine
Summary: "How is she?" Near looked up to see Matt. He had his video game in hand and his goggles on. "As well as you'd expect." Near shrugged, "You know how she and L felt about one another." LxOC


"How is she?" Near looked up to see Matt. He has his video game in hand and his goggles on. Near looked back down to the puzzle he was working on and shrugged, "As well as you'd expect her to be." He sighed indifferently. Matt looked over to the girl asleep on Near's bed. "How long as she been asleep?" Near looked over to her and thought about it for a moment, twisting a small strand of white hair around his finger, "About an hour or so. She cried for about three hours and then fell asleep." Near completed his puzzle as Matt walked over to her. "Anna?" He touched her shoulder and Near grabbed his pant leg, getting Matt's attention, "Don't do that. Anna probably hasn't slept in weeks." Matt looked over at Near through his goggles, "How do you figure that?" He looked down at the girl again. Her long brown hair covered her face as she slept. "She was working the Kira case with L. Do you think she'd go to bed and leave L alone working all night? You know how she is." Matt scratched his head, "You're probably right." Near didn't look at him as he grabbed another puzzle and started on it, "There's a ninety percent chance I am."

"Stop talking about me like I'm not here." Anna's soft voice broke through the short silence in the room. "Anna…" Matt shut his videogame off and looked at the girl on the bed. She sat up and ran a hand through her messy hair. She had dark circles under her puffy blue eyes. Her face was tear streaked and she let out a shaky breath. "Hi, Matt." Her eyes met his and she gave him a sad smile, "How are you, Kiddo?" Matt moved to sit next to her on the bed and wrapped an arm around Anna, "I'm alright. How are you? I heard about-" Near coughed, signaling Matt to shut up. Anna looked down and wiped her eyes. "I'll be okay." She choked back a sob. She looked up to Matt and shook her head, "I can't believe he's gone. We were so close to solving the case. I just couldn't stay after… Where's Mello?" Anna asked desperate to change the subject from the tragic death of her beloved. Near sighed, "He ran off when he heard about L. If I had to guess, I'd say he was going to start his own investigation. L never came to a decision on who would be his successor. Frankly, I'm surprised it wasn't you, Anna." Anna wrapped her arms around herself, "L was hesitant about letting me work cases with him. Do you think he'd ever let me work them on my own?" Near finished his second puzzle and put it away looking for something else to play with, "I suppose not."

"You need to eat something, Anna. L wouldn't want you to starve yourself." Near said and Matt nodded in agreement. Anna sniffled and pushed herself up off the bed, wobbling unsteadily, "I guess you're right. I'll be back." Matt and Near watched as she dragged herself out of the room. As soon as she was gone Matt shook his head, "Anna really is in bad shape." Near didn't look up from stacking dice on top of one another, "Well you know how she and L felt about one another. Wouldn't you be devastated if the one person you cared about most was suddenly kille?" Matt looked toward the door, "Yeah, I get what you mean. Still, L wouldn't want her to be so upset. When do you start investigating? You are succeeding L, aren't you?" Near nodded in response to Matt's question without looking up as he continued constructing his dice city. "Next week. I need to figure out what L found out before he died." Matt nodded, "I'll probably head out to find Mello. I don't think it's safe to leave him out there alone to find…" Matt's voice trailed off as Anna walked back into the room. She gasped and dropped the cup she had to the floor. It bounced being only plastic, but its contents spilled everywhere. She didn't acknowledge the mess as she stared at Near. Her eyes filled with tears and she fell to her knees beside him on the floor. She looked over to him and Near looked at her with an indifferent expression. The only sign of concern in his grey eyes, "Anna? What's wrong?" Anna threw her arms around Near and cried on the young boy's shoulder, "You're so much like L." Near and Matt shared a shocked look. Anna quickly pulled away and wiped her eyes, "I'm sorry." Near shook his head, "It's alright." Anna shook her head and sighed shakily before moving back to the bed. She laid herself down and pulled her knees to her chest, "I'm sorry… I just miss him so much."

Anna cried on and off for a week. At any mention of L or at anything-no matter how small- that reminded her of the late detective. Near avoided the emotional brunette as much as possible, knowing that looking at him caused her to cry. He still wasn't sure what it was about him that reminded her of L, but whatever it was he didn't want to see her cry anymore. Near shook the thoughts of Anna out of his mind as he contemplated on how to go about the Kira case as he built a house of cards. A small knock on the door knocked down his work and he stared at the fallen stack with indifference. After all, it was only a game. "Who is it?" He asked, but he already knew and Anna's voice didn't surprise him, "Near, I want to help." "Help with what?" He asked as he started fixing his house of cards. "I want to help you with the Kira investigation." Near stopped for a moment before placing another card on the house, "I don't think L would approve." "Well, L isn't here. I want to bring the person who's responsible for that to justice." Near turned to see Anna fighting back tears. She looked nothing like that happy girl he remembered before she left the orphanage to be with L. She wasn't exactly broken, but she wasn't whole either. "Anna, I'm not sure-" "Near, I was on the case with L. I know everything he did about the Kira investigation. I'm going to help." Near looked her over for a moment before turning back to his house of cards, "Fine, we start tomorrow." Anna nodded and turned on her heels, still fighting back tears, "I won't let L down again."


End file.
